Hi All,
Quick question - I’ve a Trinity College Zouk and am wondering about a capo for it. For any of you who have a TC, do you have any suggestions?
Thanks in advance!
Best,
Trout
I like the Shubb capos. They have a really thin profile and the tension is adjustable.
I use a Quick Draw capo on my zouk - not a TC though. The QuickDRaw capo stays attached and slides up and down the neck. It rests behind the nut when not in use.
I use Shubb capos, too. But the Quick Draw seems to be very popular among ITM musos nowadays. Available in the States from Elderly, or directly from Quick Draw.
I’ve had really good luck with the Kyser mandolin/banjo capo which you can keep clamped on the nut or headstock when not in use. I find their guitar capos require a lot of retuning when in use, but not so this model for my TC zouk. YMMV.
Shubb makes a banjo capo too and their products are excellent but require both hands and a few moments to apply. People seem to have mixed results with the Quick Draw…works great for some but a somewaht costly ineffective solution for others.
Thanks all. I appreciate the input! I will check into the options that y’all have listed.
Best,
Trout
I also used a Kyser for a while. It worked well and I really liked that you could clamp it to the headstock as Steve said. Mine didn’t last very long though. It rather quickly got rutts worn in the rubber part and that made it hard to use. I replaced it with another Shubb. Oh, and you can buy replacement rubber sleeves for the Shubbs so you don’t have to throw the whole thing out.
Following up … I’m now the proud owner of a QD guitar thingy (thank you Mr. Eskin!). Set up was easy, and it seems to work exactly as advertised. Time will tell in practice, but it looks like a winner.
Quick Draw Capos: http://www.quickdrawcapo.com/
I’ve not tried one, so I’m interested to hear about the ‘sits behind the nut’ feature. In that position, how does it keep from rattling or pressing the strings out of tune?
It seems OK so far, Tim. Even though it slides easily, it’s not loose at all, pretty solid. So no rattles from that. I haven’t checked by tuner for pulling the strings sharp behind the nut. But by ear I can’t really hear a problem. If you park it right up against the nut, there’s very little string deflection; the string tension on the headstock is pretty high anyway.
It does take a bit of a push to get it over the nut, but that’s probably a matter of practice. On instruments with a zero fret, you can park it between the fret and the nut.
Positioning really does seem just a matter of moving it where you want it. No problem at least up to the 7th fret, as high as I usually go. Much better than the Glider roller capo, that I could never get to work worth a darn for me.
We’ll see if I’m ready to give up my Shubb. I’ve used the same original Shubb for 25 years now, and I’m on my 3rd or 4th replacement rubber. 
I’m a big Shubb guy from way back, but when it comes to bouzouki there are other considerations besides the sound, which I find to be best with the Shubb in all cases. Most of the zouk players in Ireland use a sliding capo, since they often shift positions in the middle of a set. A competent sessioneer will have developed the skill of sliding the capo while continuously strumming, providing a) a lovely gliss effect, and b) a seamless transition without no holes in her. The Quickdraw has crossed the pond, but many still get great mileage out of the old elastic capos leftover from the Age of the Hootenanny.
Rob
As you know, it’s also possible to move a Shubb in mid-play. But even one-handed, it still takes a moment. So the transition takes the form of a lovely, heel of the hand-muted rhythmic bashing of random noise for a few seconds, which then bursts into glorious tonality when the capo either snaps in place or is off. If you do this vigorously enough and with great conviction, either no one notices or they’re too shocked to object. If they do, you just glare at them and declare “It’s modal!!”
Another follow-up …
Several friends advised me to leave the capo overnight at the 1st fret to let it settle. In fact, after 24 hours the spring strap stretched enough that the capo was buzzing at the 1st fret. A reset by tightening the eye screw by 1/2 turn did the trick.
One of the complaints voiced by Sean Laffey (Irish Music Mag) when he first reviewed the QD was that the thing is so slick that it’s too slick to handle when putting it on. But I found that wearing a pair of latex gloves gives you just enough grip to handle it with little more difficulty than a hootenanny capo (love the term, Rob). Still, this is not a capo you want to be taking on and off.